World Cup 2010: England's schedule in lead up to finals in South Africa

Key dates for England after they booked their ticket to next summer's World
Cup finals in South Africa.

Road to Johannesburg: England can now prepare for South AfricaPhoto: AFP

By Jeremy Wilson

1:49PM BST 10 Sep 2009

Oct 10: v Ukraine (Kiev) World Cup qualifier

Oct 14: v Belarus (Wembley) World Cup qualifier

Nov 14: v Brazil (Qatar) Friendly, to be confirmed

Dec 4: World Cup draw (Cape Town)

England, Japan, Australia, Korea Republic, Holland, Korea DPR, Brazil, Spain, Ghana and Paraguay are already qualified for the 32-team draw. The draw will be split into four ‘pots’ of eight teams. The exact spilt of the various pots will not be finalised until all qualification issues are decided, although England are expected to be among the top eight seeds in Pot One. Hosts South Africa have already been allocated Group A. The holders are no longer granted an automatic place in the finals, with Italy’s qualification still in the balance.